He would argue that, but in his life and business it was so common that like his father he only found it odd when someone wasn’t trying to kill him.
His father met his gaze. “You were incredible, by the way. Where did you learn to fight like that?”
“Three older sisters who kept wanting to put dresses on me and paint my nails. Since I couldn’t outrun them, I had to learn to outfight them and unfortunately for me, they don’t hit like girls. If that’s not bad enough, they all fight dirty too.”
His father laughed. “Thank you.”
He shrugged the gratitude away. “You saved my life, it’s only fair I save yours.”
Evzen fell silent at those words that cut him deep inside. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear from his son. He wanted to hear Caillen say that he’d saved him because he loved him.
Just once.
He’s a man and a tough one at that. Men like Caillen didn’t admit to tender feelings for anyone. He understood that, but the father in him who remembered holding his son as a newborn was desperate to have his son accept him.
It’s a fool’s dream. He knew it and yet he couldn’t stop the ache inside that yearned for a relationship he feared would never happen. If he could only lay hands on the ones who’d deprived him of seeing his son grow up. Of being there when Caillen had needed him.
He wanted blood over the gulf that separated them.
Caillen still didn’t accept him as family. Not really. His sisters were the only ones he admitted to. Damn you bastards for taking him from me.
But at least he had his son now. Though it wasn’t the close, tight relationship he desired, Caillen was still here. For the time being, he wasn’t running for the door and so he would accept that and hope for a time when Caillen felt like this was his home too.
And that he his father, not a Dagan smuggler.
Darling and Maris came rushing up to them.
“What happened?” Darling asked as soon as he stopped by Caillen’s side.
Caillen’s answer was short and clipped. “Assassin.” Nothing more than that was needed to explain the commotion.
Darling let out a sound of exasperation. “League?”
Caillen shook his head. “He had on civs, but he carried a League weapon—don’t know if it was a trophy or he was a contractor. As soon as they clear the room, I’ll have them run the DNA and see if we can find out if he was solo or attached and if there was a contract issued.”
Maris scanned Caillen’s body with a worried frown. “Are both of you all right?”
Caillen scowled. “I am so offended that you’d even ask that question. I’m sorry but if third-rate shit like that can take me out, I deserve to die.”
Maris scoffed at his righteous indignation. “Forgive me for questioning your fighting prowess. However, I do remember having to pull you out—”
“I was drunk.”
“And you were bleeding all over my new shoes.”
Caillen’s scowl melted under a smile he was trying to keep hidden as he remembered the event and didn’t want to cop to it entirely. “Yeah well, there was ten of them and one drunk me. Actually now that I think about it, I was so flagged, I thought there was twenty of them. My vision was just that screwed up.”
His father sighed heavily. “Oh the stories I overhear. I shudder at how many close calls you’ve had in your life.”
Caillen gave him an arch stare. “I wasn’t the one who almost had my head pinned to the wall a minute ago.”
He was right about that and while Evzen prided himself on being intelligent with his safety and cautious by nature, he realized how much he lacked when compared to the child he’d fathered. Whatever had caused fate to take his son from his side, it had given his boy life skills that could definitely come in handy for an emperor.
Now if he could only train and hone Caillen’s civility to the sharp point of his fighting skills he’d have a legendary leader.
Caillen flagged down the hazmat workers as they came to extract the body. He divested the first one to reach him of her mask and gloves, then went to investigate the assassin’s remains.
The man was lying right where they’d left him. A greenish cast to his skin let Caillen know the death had been quick and about as painless as it could be. But that wasn’t what concerned him.
Kneeling down, he retrieved the League dagger and searched for the assassin’s reader. He found it and rose to his feet.
The worker stopphim from leaving. “That’s evidence.”
He stared down at the woman’s peeved glare. “Indeed it is and I’ll hand it over after I look through it.” He stepped away from her.
She moved to block him again until her boss cleared his throat and shook his head. Her expression furious, she finally let him pass.